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Sure, Bourbon Steak Lounge is synonymous with face-melting, make-you-scream-for-your-momma-they’re-so-good burgers. Put it this way, we’d rather have a Bourbon Steak Lounge burger than stock in Shake Shack. But there’s something even better (and brand new) lurking on the lounge menu – The Best Thing on the Menu: Pulled Pork Pop-Tarts served with Carolina BBQ sauce and gherkins.

Bourbon Steak Chef Joe Palma takes 20% of the fun out of it by explaining that pop-tarts are really just flat empanadas. He ruined our fantasy that these would would one day be available to purchase from Kellogg’s for daily, in-home consumption. Alas, to Bourbon Steak Lounge we’ll head for round after round of these warm, flaky wonders filled with bright yellow meatsies thanks to the mustard component of the sauce. Order them alongside an expertly crafted cocktail from bar genius Duane Sylvestre.

Fortunately (like Kellogg’s) an order of pop-tarts only comes with two pastries, leaving you belly room to tackle one of those epic burgers we mentioned. Feel free to explore all of the options, but don’t overlook the original oak-fired prime steak burger with house pickles, cabot clothbound cheddar and secret sauce. The Korean barbeque burger packs a punch thanks to heat from kimchi and gochujang sauce. Just don’t expect a patty made from minced salmon. You get a whole salmon filet instead, eschewing dryness and creating an adorable juxtaposition of a rectangle tucked between two round buns.

Obviously, you’re also getting the duck fat fries with a trio of dipping sauces.

Bourbon Steak Lounge is located inside the Four Seasons Hotel Washington at 2800 Pennsylvania Avenue NW.

Best Thing on the Menu was starting to get a little stuffy, so with some prodding from our followers, we sought an opportunity to show our IDs at the door, eagerly await bar stools and dive in to dive-bar cuisine.

When was the last time you got your bill at a bar or restaurant and smiled? That’ll probably happen if you visit Sign of the Whale on M Street NW. Sure you might have to listen to amateur karaoke, drink out of plastic cups or find alternatives to traditional toilet paper, but the beer flows cold and cheap and there are some great eats.

Sign of the Whale’s Best Thing on the Menu: Philly-style Soft Pretzels with Horseradish Dipping Sauce won’t disappoint, and by glancing at other patrons, they’re quite popular.

When those two steamy, buttery, salty hot pretzels arrive, they have the power to turn any bad day around, and for only $4.00 at happy hour! We suspect they take a bubble bath in butter, but we chose not to ask the chef this time. While we typically don’t recommend Philly anything served outside of the City of Brotherly Love, we let this slide because Sign of the Whale is regarded, at times, as a Philly bar.

We aspire to one day try Chef Donny Frazier’s “Man Overboard Burgers.” Who wouldn’t want the “Humpback Whale,” which consists of two half-pound burgers served open faced on two grilled cheese sandwiches topped with waffle fries and tater tots covered with chili and cheese sauce? If only there was an alternate universe where you could forever maintain your collegiate, consequence-free eating abilities. Reading about that burger makes us feel better about the two orders of pretzels.

One fun fact about Sign of the Whale is that they offer the opportunity to put your day job on hold for just one night to step into the shoes of a bartender. Click here to learn about their Wednesday guest bartender opportunity.